The Nut Gatherers

William-Adolphe Bouguereau painted The Nut Gatherers in 1882, near the height of his fame as the most successful exponent of Academic art in France. Two young girls sit in a sunlit woodland clearing, one with a basket of hazelnuts, the other leaning against her. The idealized figures, the smooth finish, and the sentimental sweetness of the scene are characteristic of Bouguereau, whose technical mastery made him a legend even as the avant-garde turned against him.